[Albion] The fixture list is rigged towards the top 6 teams

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Yes but you miss the point. The expenditure necessary to eventually reach the premier league would not have reached such dizzying heights without the inflated transfer process and wages. The only people benefiting are footballers and agents.

The only people benefitting.....are the players (and the agents they employ)? Who do you think should be given the money?

CDs would be so much cheaper if it weren't for the greedy pop stars wanting so much money......

I seem to be missing a point here.....

Yes, let's pay players less money, sell the ones who won't accept a pay cut. Top plan.

 

[Stat Brother]

Personally I agree with the sentiment but it’s the lack of transparency that I don’t like. Fair enough United and Liverpool bring in the millions, but don’t pretend it’s all equal when there clearly is a bias.

Show me something that says the fixture list is completely random and there's no collusion, and I'll stop laughing at your naivety.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Personally I agree with the sentiment but it’s the lack of transparency that I don’t like. Fair enough United and Liverpool bring in the millions, but don’t pretend it’s all equal when there clearly is a bias.

Transparency is very dangerous in this context. If it is written down carefully how the bulk of TV interest comes from people in the far east watching ManU, Liverpool and Arsenal, and fixtures are cooked to maximise income, yet a high proportion of the income is disbursed to the likes of Burnley, Palace and Brighton.....if I were the ManU chairman I might start to kick off.

Don't shed daylight on magic.....

 

[lancyclaret]

In 2014/15, Burnley played the top EIGHT in consecutive matches in Jan-Mar.

Man U (a: 1-3), Chelsea (a: 1-1), Swansea (h: 0-1), Liverpool (a: 0-2), Man City (h: 1-0), Southampton (a: 0-2), Tottenham (h: 0-0), Arsenal (h: 0-1).

Relegation followed.

 

[pastafarian]

I wouldnt concern yourself with the fixture list.
More worrying is the growing way the big six clubs over the years( apart from a few anomalies) are gaining a stranglehold on the top six places year in year out. I dont begrudge their success or the fact the best players who want the best wages are drawn to them, i would however like football to be less biased to the richer clubs and there is more equilibrium in everyone having a fair crack at the whip.
In the end this particular league risks becoming stale and boring if it is the usual suspects every year............leicester winning the league shouldnt be considered an extraordinary unprecedented event where we all fall over over ourselves and say "oh look, they can do it and buck the trend".....it should be just another club in the mix having a great season

 

[Stat Brother]

I wouldnt concern yourself with the fixture list.
More worrying is the growing way the big six clubs over the years( apart from a few anomalies) are gaining a stranglehold on the top six places year in year out. I dont begrudge their success or the fact the best players who want the best wages are drawn to them, i would however like football to be less biased to the richer clubs and there is more equilibrium in everyone having a fair crack at the whip.
In the end this particular league risks becoming stale and boring if it is the usual suspects every year............leicester winning the league shouldnt be considered an extraordinary unprecedented event where we all fall over over ourselves and say "oh look, they can do it and buck the trend".....it should be just another club in the mix having a great season

You talk of a 'big 6'.

Recently it was '5 into 4'.
Not that long before it was a 'big 4'.

Spain has a 'Big 2'.
Germany France & Italy all have a 'Big 1'.

 

[pastafarian]

The only people benefitting.....are the players (and the agents they employ)? Who do you think should be given the money?

CDs would be so much cheaper if it weren't for the greedy pop stars wanting so much money......

I seem to be missing a point here.....

Yes, let's pay players less money, sell the ones who won't accept a pay cut. Top plan.

I wouldnt mind suggesting that the supporters be given some of the money as well in the form of massively reduced tickets, some of the ticket prices for the Emirates and new White hart lane, amongst others are just taking the piss

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

Show me something that says the fixture list is completely random and there's no collusion, and I'll stop laughing at your naivety.

It never has been (see below) and would be ridiculous if it was. Clearly Sky's 'Super Sundays' don't happen by accident, but much more has to go into it than simply giving Brighton and Huddersfield extra-difficult final matches.

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport...uos-foe-the-fixture-list-planner-2052276.html

 

[Tweeting Seagull]

Show me something that says the fixture list is completely random and there's no collusion, and I'll stop laughing at your naivety.

As I said in my original message I don’t think anyone is surprised. It’s not about a naive assumption of fairness, more the point that if it’s the case we should be made aware that this is the case. Liverpool away on the final day could have been critical and if it’s only the prospect of the bottom 14, let’s be aware of that.

 

[el punal]

Interesting stuff from the Telegraph:

“The Premier League fixture list is engineered to stop the biggest clubs playing each other on the final day of the season, it can be revealed. The top-six teams over a three-year period are also kept apart in the opening round of games and on FA Cup semi-final weekend, according to the tender document for the UK television rights to the world’s richest league.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/footbal...-league-fixture-list-engineered-stop-biggest/

Not really surprised but nice to have the bias confirmed.

Ah! Now here’s the rub. How does anyone know who the top six teams are before the season starts? (Referring of course to your thread title!). The alleged six biggest, or the six richest, or the six that can pay as much as they want to for any player that they want. Well, that is another kettle of fish.

 

[pastafarian]

You talk of a 'big 6'.

Recently it was '5 into 4'.
Not that long before it was a 'big 4'.

Spain has a 'Big 2'.
Germany France & Italy all have a 'Big 1'.

i think my point was we have a growing trend to those big six being in the mix of the top six (except the occasional anomalies) , i can only see them entrenching themselves and making it harder for others to be in their club.

i was sent this a while back on how the diversity of the top six finishers post war has changed

 

[A1X]

Surely not putting them together on FA Cup semi weekend just makes sense practically? Given the top 6 are more likely to be involved those fixtures are more likely to be shifted so for various reasons it must make sense for the PL not to have them then.

Personally I think they might as well not schedule anything for FA Cup weekends in the PL and just play mid-week either side, but I appreciate for the teams in Europe this is a challenge.

 

[Simster]

I wouldnt concern yourself with the fixture list.
More worrying is the growing way the big six clubs over the years( apart from a few anomalies) are gaining a stranglehold on the top six places year in year out. I dont begrudge their success or the fact the best players who want the best wages are drawn to them, i would however like football to be less biased to the richer clubs and there is more equilibrium in everyone having a fair crack at the whip.
In the end this particular league risks becoming stale and boring if it is the usual suspects every year............leicester winning the league shouldnt be considered an extraordinary unprecedented event where we all fall over over ourselves and say "oh look, they can do it and buck the trend".....it should be just another club in the mix having a great season

There will always be big clubs who appear at the top of the table, and to be fair in this country the top 4, 5, 6 has evolved down the years. In the early 80s, the big 4 were Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs - then Everton turned it into a big 5.

Since then, Chelsea have transformed themselves into a permanent member of the big 4, Leeds were in a big 6 for well over a decade spanning the 90s and 00s, Newcastle and Blackburn (the original success-buying club) both went big and featured in a top 6 of sorts. Even Aston Villa had a claim to be part of a big 6 in the couple of years they were runners up.

So there have always been a top 4 or 6 or whatever, but it does evolve. And frankly, faced between the choice between a massaged fixture list to make it TV friendly, and the alternative - which is probably to allow clubs to negotiate their own TV rights (thus locking in a permanently uncompetitive situation as in Spain), then I know which is the lesser of two evils in my mind.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

I wouldnt concern yourself with the fixture list.
More worrying is the growing way the big six clubs over the years( apart from a few anomalies) are gaining a stranglehold on the top six places year in year out. I dont begrudge their success or the fact the best players who want the best wages are drawn to them, i would however like football to be less biased to the richer clubs and there is more equilibrium in everyone having a fair crack at the whip.
In the end this particular league risks becoming stale and boring if it is the usual suspects every year............leicester winning the league shouldnt be considered an extraordinary unprecedented event where we all fall over over ourselves and say "oh look, they can do it and buck the trend".....it should be just another club in the mix having a great season

You could look to the NFL and Major League baseball salary caps and luxury taxes as a way forward in that direction, and the way losing teams get easier fixture lists the following season (which we do by relegating them). And it seems to work. The last 10 Super Bowls have been won by nine different teams: Eagles, Patriots, Broncos, Patriots, Seahawks, Ravens, Giants, Packers, Saints, Steelers; the past 10 World Series by 8 - Astros, Cubs, Royals, Giants, Red Sox, Giants, Cardinals, Giants, Yankees, Phillies. The Yankees are the richest team in world sports by most reckonings but can't dominate their sport.

Of course, salary caps and luxury taxes have always been reckoned to fall foul of EU competition law, which might not be a problem for the UK after Brexit. But then the top four would complain that they can't be competitive in Europe where there are no restrictions on how much can be spent on players.

 

[FatSuperman]

I get that it's the huge clubs that bring in the money - but I wouldn't have said Man City were a huge draw to international TV viewers until relatively recently. If Wolves sign Neymar, Messi and half a dozen other names over the next two seasons, then they'd no doubt start being hugely popular by football fans around the world.

The whole thing is engineered to one degree or another, and that's fine by me. The notion that the money is all down to these top teams though, that makes me smile. They should **** off to their own super league then, just play each other four times, no relegation etc. Just a champion and a few CL places. People around the world would love it. A six team league of elite mega-rich teams. I'd imagine it would implode in a few years. Arsenal would probably come last every year.

These teams NEED the smaller teams to actually have some chance of a decent points return and show some awesome football etc.

 

[Tweeting Seagull]

Transparency is very dangerous in this context. If it is written down carefully how the bulk of TV interest comes from people in the far east watching ManU, Liverpool and Arsenal, and fixtures are cooked to maximise income, yet a high proportion of the income is disbursed to the likes of Burnley, Palace and Brighton.....if I were the ManU chairman I might start to kick off.

Don't shed daylight on magic.....

A lack of transparency will lead to conspiracy theories and a loss of trust in the premier league management, which is already pretty low.

I’m not saying let’s share the algorithm they use, but we should be aware this bias exists. If a team finished in the top 6 or 8 it could be simply have been sold as a benefit of finishing higher. The fact it’s being leaked in the telegraph makes the premier league look crooked.

 

[pastafarian]

There will always be big clubs who appear at the top of the table, and to be fair in this country the top 4, 5, 6 has evolved down the years. In the early 80s, the big 4 were Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs - then Everton turned it into a big 5.

Since then, Chelsea have transformed themselves into a permanent member of the big 4, Leeds were in a big 6 for well over a decade spanning the 90s and 00s, Newcastle and Blackburn (the original success-buying club) both went big and featured in a top 6 of sorts. Even Aston Villa had a claim to be part of a big 6 in the couple of years they were runners up.

So there have always been a top 4 or 6 or whatever, but it does evolve. And frankly, faced between the choice between a massaged fixture list to make it TV friendly, and the alternative - which is probably to allow clubs to negotiate their own TV rights (thus locking in a permanently uncompetitive situation as in Spain), then I know which is the lesser of two evils in my mind.

Indeed , but my point again was the current mob are entrenching their position like no other clubs have previously been able to do, i dont believe this is in the best interests of the game, suits the sponsors, advertisers and owners no end though

 

[Tweeting Seagull]

Ah! Now here’s the rub. How does anyone know who the top six teams are before the season starts? (Referring of course to your thread title!). The alleged six biggest, or the six richest, or the six that can pay as much as they want to for any player that they want. Well, that is another kettle of fish.

The article says it’s based on an average of the previous 3 years

 

[Simster]

Indeed , but my point again was the current mob are entrenching their position like no other clubs have previously been able to do, i dont believe this is in the best interests of the game, suits the sponsors, advertisers and owners no end though

Yes I posted that before you posted your image which is indeed an eye opener. That said, I'm not sure it is entirely the fault of the top 6 as much as the fault of the Champions League - the world's best players now want exposure to that competition more than anything else. Of course, this means that the top 6 are now a magnet for the best players in a way that was never previously the case.

 

[pastafarian]

Yes I posted that before you posted your image which is indeed an eye opener. That said, I'm not sure it is entirely the fault of the top 6 as much as the fault of the Champions League - the world's best players now want exposure to that competition more than anything else. Of course, this means that the top 6 are now a magnet for the best players in a way that was never previously the case.

I would certainly go along with that thinking about the Champions league, its a magnet as you say for the cream of the crop. and the salaries and the agents fees and the money money money.....